New Years with Family
by Zeika
Summary: Kagome races home to reach her brother before the New Year rolls and and does a little reminiscing on the way. One Shot.


A one shot for the New Year.

Disclaimer: I own nothing - even the plot has been done before, I'm sure.

Kagome sped towards her destination leaping over roots, ducking low branches, dodging trees, and avoiding any other obstacle that attempted to delay her. She'd promised, after all, to be here by midnight. She'd spent Christmas in the past with her friends, but she'd celebrate the incoming new year with her twin and their friends.

She didn't even know she had another sibling until eight months ago. Yusuke had shown up to investigate a disturbance in the area and had come across Inuyasha and Kagome arguing.

_  
**Eight Months Ago**

Naraku had been destroyed about a month previous and, unfortunately, the jewel had been shattered again and the group was in the process of collecting all the shards over again. Nobody was in a terrible hurry to reconstruct the Shikon no Tama, except Inuyasha. Sango's family had been avenged and she was still morning the final loss of her brother. Miroku was happily living with no more threat of imminent death due to his hand and was biding his time to for Sango to finish mourning in order to wed. Shippo was traveling with Sesshoumaru as a favor to Kagome and learning some much needed youkai knowledge.

Kagome had decided to come home and catch up on schoolwork. She had been back for two weeks and was almost finished with the work she was behind on; she wasn't going back to the past until she was done. Inuyasha felt otherwise.

"I don't care, wench!" Inuyasha shouted, "you are coming back with me, you've been here long enough!"

"No, I am staying right here," she returned. "I have things I have to take care of and I don't have time right now!"

"Hey you!" An unknown voice drawled. Both the hanyou and the miko turned towards the voice. He was standing a few feet from the edge of the steps leading from the road to the shrine. The young man had cobalt black hair that had been gelled back and was garbed in a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans. He did not seem at all a threat to the white haired hanyou from the past.

"Yeah! You with the ears!" He pointed, his thumb up and index finger extended as a gun, at Inuyasha and smirked. Inuyasha's ear twitched at the remark.

"What do ya want?" Inuyasha snarled, with a sideways glance at Kagome. She was staring at the newcomer with shock and hadn't spoken, not a usual occurrence for his futuristic friend.

"I want you to let her go and then I'm going to kick your long haired, pansy ass!" The strange boy challenged, "ain't nobody going to be kidnapping a human under my watch, youkai!"

Inuyasha released Kagome's elbow and unsheathed the Tetsusaiga before the dark haired male was even finished with his taunt. Kagome blinked as what the intruder had said registered.

Inuyasha charged with a snarl at the same time the seemingly human stranger leapt.

"Osuwari!" Kagome shouted. She darted around the small crater and stood between the pair with her arms spread, her back to Inuyasha.

"I don't know who you are, or how you know about youkai," she cried, "but this one is mine! He means no harm!"

The stranger cocked his head and blinked at the girl. He glanced at the subdued hanyou and rubbed the back of his head.

"Heh, it sounded like he wanted to take you somewhere you didn't want to go, girl."

Kagome frowned, "Well, yes. But, no. It's kind of complicated!"

"Well, I've got time, why don't you explain. I'm Yusuke."

"I'm Kagome." She dropped her arms and glanced back at Inuyasha. He was finally just picking himself up and was grumbling something unintelligible. Probably best she couldn't understand him.  
"That's Inuyasha. He's my friend!" She said with a glare at Yusuke, "How do you know about youkai? What are you doing here at my shrine? How dare you threaten us!"

She had started out calmly but ended her series of questions at a screech and a few inches from his face.

"Hey!" Yusuke yelped, hands to his ears, "stupid girl! I thought you were in danger! I felt some weird energy about ten minutes ago and came to check it out! Then, I heard that jerk threatening to take you with him!"

"I'll show you jerk!" Inuyasha snarled and picked him up by the front of his shirt. Inuyasha reared back to punch the intruder and stopped, shocked. Yusuke's arrogant smirk fell into confusion. Inuyasha pulled the toushin closer and sniffed him. Then he dropped Yusuke back to his feet and sniffed Kagome.

"Hey!" Yusuke and Kagome exclaimed, together.

"What the hell!?" Inuyasha growled. He went to pick Yusuke back up for another sniff, but Yusuke's fist smashed into his nose while Kagome's slammed right between his ears.

Inuyasha snarled at the pair while rubbing his head. He met Kagome's glare and with his ears dropping, he answered the obvious question that they had, but hadn't spoken.  
"You two smell alike." Inuyasha looked sideways at the house, "you smell more like this idiot than you do your brother."

"So?" Kagome asked, "maybe we use the same shampoo? Or the same soap. Just because we smell the same doesn't mean a thing. Lots of people smell the same!"

"Not to me." Inuyasha spoke up softly, "I'm a dog demon, Kagome. I mean that you smell related. You don't smell at all like your mom, except that her scent is on your clothes and things. Keh, you don't smell like your gramps, either. Your scent has some of the same like Souta."

"What's that supposed to mean, puppy eared freak!?" Yusuke shouted. He had an inkling of where Inuyasha was getting to, but couldn't the bastard just get to the point?!

Inuyasha turned to the toushin and shouted, "It means you smell like siblings, dumbass!"

Silence reigned.

Kagome snatched Inuyasha and Yusuke both by the wrist and charged towards the house.

"Momma!" She cried.

Kagome, Inuyasha, and Yusuke were welcomed into the house and sat at the kitchen table. Kagome's mother told the trio of how she had met this wonderful man who had a daughter of eight months old. They had fallen in love and married, in the process, he told her of another child he had, his daughter's twin. Her husband had split with the Kagome's real mother and each had kept one the twins. Kagome had gone with her father, her brother had gone with their mother, Atsuko. Due to a series of unplanned events, Kagome's father had lost touch with Atsuko and didn't know where she and Yusuke had relocated to after the divorce. In the end, they had decided to raise Kagome as their daughter together and not mention that she had a blood mother and twin brother in the world.

Over the next several months, Kagome got to know her twin and his life. She was filled in on his entire life and even met his friends. If she wasn't in Sengoku Jidai, she was spending time with the ex-Spirit Detectives. She'd left a week before Christmas to do some shard hunting and attend the wedding of Miroku and Sango.

_  
**Fourteen Days Ago**

"Yusuke, it's their wedding." Kagome argued with her obstinate brother. Why did she want another one again? Souta's stubborness had nothing on Yusuke's tenacity.

"But, it's _Christmas_! It's the first Christmas we'll have together," Yusuke whined.

"I _know,_" Kagome looked away guiltily.

"So, why can't you stay? Keiko was really looking forward to the party she's throwing and everything." Yusuke suddenly grinned, "and the guys will all be there, too."

Kagome flushed and glared at her brother. "I am going to see my friends' wedding. If you don't like it, you can just suck it up. There will be other Christmases."

Yusuke took a deep breath to begin again. "Ka-"

"And furthermore!" Kagome interrupted, "I will promise to be home for New Years and will spend the whole day with you. Just stop pestering me and let me go!"

"The whole day?" Yusuke wheedled, conceding Christmas.

"From the time the bells ring until midnight of the first." Kagome confirmed with a nod.

"Deal." Yusuke thrust out his hand, "we'll meet at the usual place. I'll tell Keiko and the guys. You just make sure you show up, sis."

Kagome ignored Yusuke's hand and threw herself into him in a bear hug. She squeezed tight and held on for a second before releasing him and darting into the well house, grabbing her backpack that was lying beside the open door.

"I promise! See you there when the bells ring!" She tossed over her shoulder. She leapt into the well and was surrounded by blue light.

Yusuke watched, with his hands in his pockets, the well his sister had just disappeared into before turning away. He looked up into the Goshinboku's branches and shrugged at the two men watching him.

"Let's go guys. She'll be back."

_  
**Present  
**Kagome ducked the last low hanging branch and stumbled into the clearing. She took a deep breath to catch her breath as she glanced around and saw her friends. There was Yusuke, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, smirking at a scolding Keiko. Yukina was tending to a small fire while listening to Kuwabara talk. Boton held a marshmallow over Yukina's fire and watched, with a devilish grin, the fire apparition, Hiei, glare at the red head speaking to Yukina. Shizuru held her usual cigarette between her fingers and gestured with her right hand towards Yusuke and Keiko while speaking in a low murmur to Genkai. Kurama reclined against the tree Hiei was perched in and was the first to notice the new comer to the group.

"Hello, Kagome." He smiled.

"Kurama." Kagome returned between gasps.

"Running a bit behind, sis? You seem to be out of breath."

Kagome gestured weakly behind her, "I had to explain what New Years is. Miroku kept me back asking questions."

"Hn." Hiei acknowledge and dropped from his perch in the tree.

"He's curious." Kagome explained with a shrug, "They have a different kind of calendar back then. They don't do Christmas either."

"Understandable." Kurama stood up and pulled a beverage out of a cooler near the fire. "Here, take this. You look like you could use it."

She smiled up into his green eyes and accepted the drink with a grateful nod.

Genkai turned towards the city and right on cue the bells began to ring. The group listened to the bells ring for a few minutes before turning back to one another with smiles. The previous year had been a good one, hopefully the incoming one would be even better.

"Happy New Year!"


End file.
